It's feast or famine right now in OB. I was put on standby last Thursday, sent home after 4 hours Tuesday, put on standby last night, and cancelled altogether tonight (the upside is I'm enjoying a glass of wine right now). When that phone rings at 1700, I know it can only be work calling to tell me not to come in. It's always a "Yay! Oh, wait. Crap."
I LOVE being able to stay home with my family in the evening, and it's always extra nice to be mentally preparing to leave, and then get this gift of being able to stay home. But DANG, it's hard when the paycheck comes.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I started reading obituaries because I am into genealogy but really started paying attention and cutting them out (the people I knew) when I worked at an in-patient hospice...sorry this had nothing to do with the original post...and I can't even blame it on the wine!
My husband, a hospice RN, would read the obits regularly. "I knew him. I knew him. I knew her. I knew him."
My friends and I started reading the obituaries on a regular basis when we were assigned funeral detail. To this day, I read obituaries.
I read the obits daily also, but I don't know if it's because I work in hospice or the fact that I'm getting older. I'm going to blame it on the first.
Haha! You guys are hilarious. Yeah, that doesn't seem right to be able to tell someone they can't come to work... or it seems like there should at least be a policy limiting how many times it can happen in a pay period? if they hired you as a fulltime worker, you should be bringing home a fulltime paycheck--or something close to it!
I thought this was something I was going through. How in the world is this acceptable? I hardly know of ANY other jobs that say "Oh..you MIGHT get 40 hours this week..and ya might not..but in the meantime, you're to wait around and be at our beck and call. You're not being paid, but you're also on OUR time, so don't ya dare make any plans of your own either...God forbid relax.". It's truly sickening.
Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.
Haha! You guys are hilarious. Yeah, that doesn't seem right to be able to tell someone they can't come to work... or it seems like there should at least be a policy limiting how many times it can happen in a pay period? if they hired you as a fulltime worker, you should be bringing home a fulltime paycheck--or something close to it!
This is a naive viewpoint in today's world. I work in an "at will employment" state. I have a job as long as it is the will of the employer. The employer can discharge me, dissolve our relationship at any time, for any or no reason...if that is their will. Likewise, I may quit at anytime for any or no reason.
So, unless there is a labor law which addresses this or unless the workplace is particularly collaborative and supportive of staff, or the workplace is unionized...people will be given time off without pay as the employer sees fit. In manufacturing settings the employees may actually qualify for unemployment when they are unscheduled for periods of time. In nursing it is a day to day thing...so they often lose out on the pay end of things.
I personally believe that low census days can largely be avoided in hospital nursing. I believe that nurses who want the work should cross train in another specialty unit, maybe 2. This allows them and their employer greater flexibility in scheduling and makes it less likely that nurses who want/need to work will be twiddling their thumbs with short paychecks.
Haha! You guys are hilarious. Yeah, that doesn't seem right to be able to tell someone they can't come to work... or it seems like there should at least be a policy limiting how many times it can happen in a pay period? if they hired you as a fulltime worker, you should be bringing home a fulltime paycheck--or something close to it!
During the "nursing shortage" days in 2004-5, many hospitals in the SF Bay area were adopting a "no call-off" policy. I know that Kaiser has it in their contract. So, on slow days, you either float or get a really nice assignment!!
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
During the "nursing shortage" days in 2004-5, many hospitals in the SF Bay area were adopting a "no call-off" policy. I know that Kaiser has it in their contract. So, on slow days, you either float or get a really nice assignment!!
The hospital I worked at for the first 4 years of my career had a "no low-census call-off" but it was abandoned in 2007 or 2008.
You know what I find really not so funny, the employers who couldn't find one blank day of work for me for months on end, fighting tooth and nail with the unemployment department to get out of paying me unemployment. If you don't want to pay unemployment, then give the blank employee work, blank it. The employee can't give the landlord your blank excuses. Begrudge us a blank living. I hate them.
We have been in a feast or famine mode in the OR for a couple months. We rotate getting called off. We have a lot of nurses that wnat to go so if it's your turn and don't want to be out the money or PTO you can always give away the day off.
But I agree, it is hard to say NO to a day off...............
I wanted to add, I gave up reading the obits the day I saw MY NAME (it is fairly common). I called work & told my boss I couldn't come in cause my name was in the obits so I must be dead, she said death was NOT an excuse for a day off & to come in anyways. :smackingf
klone, MSN, RN
14,857 Posts
My husband, a hospice RN, would read the obits regularly. "I knew him. I knew him. I knew her. I knew him."